LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, April 2: Health services remained paralysed in the Jharkhand capital as doctors boycotted their work to protest against the incident of commission of suicide by Dr Archana Sharma in Rajasthan and to press for their demand to implement the Medical Protect Act.
Sharma, who had committed suicide on March 29 following the registration of a murder case against her under the pressure of relatives of a patient who died while undergoing treatment under Dr Sharma, was an alumnus of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).
Thus the impact of the boycott was severe there. Barring emergency service, no medical service was provided there. The OPDs remained closed and pathological examinations remained suspended as all doctors assembled at a place to express their solidarity with the family of the lady doctor who was survived by her husband and two below 12-year-old son and daughter.
Like RIMS, OPD service at Sadar Hospital and other private hospitals also remained affected and patients remained the worst sufferers.
“It is a tough situation. Though there was no emergency for me as I had a mild fever and cough but the way doctors boycotted the work suggests that they have to know that when treatment is not given on time health problems can become a major problem,” a patient from Palamu said.
JHASA secretary Dr Bimlesh Singh said the suicide by the lady doctor having roots in Ranchi is an eye-opener for all and thus the government should take proper initiatives to safeguard the interest of the doctors who played a vital role during the corona pandemic and other emergency situations.
“Doctors in Jharkhand are facing a similar situation and so far the state government has done nothing to enforce the Medical Protection Act to give them protection. Today’s boycott is a warning. If demands are not fulfilled the strike will be intensified in the future,” Dr Singh said.
